Garment

ABSTRACT

A garment is provided with a main part which consists of a front body section, a back body section and sleeves extending from front and back body sections toward both arm sides over shoulders, and a pair of first tightening parts separately placed in right and left areas located at the positions of right and left deltoid muscles covering the boundary of the wearer&#39;s shoulder and upper arm in the back side, wherein the front and back body sections and the upper arm sections of the sleeves comprise at least two kinds of stretch materials, which differ in stretchability from each other, including a material for the main part and a material for the first tightening parts having a lower stretchability than the main part.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to garments, in particular, to a garmentcapable of holding a posture in which the chest is elevated and the backis straightened and capable of improving a body function by simply beingworn, and particularly suitably used as an undershirt.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various types of inner wears for correcting a posture or for supportingand assisting the movement of the muscles during exercise and duringwalking are conventionally provided.

In the posture correcting garment of Japanese Patent Publication No.2006-320640 (patent document 1), a tension section having a shape of alaterally facing letter H, including tension parts 100, 102 separatelylocated in left and right horizontal directions at an upper part and alower part on a neck side and a tension part 102 for coupling middles ofthe upper and lower tension parts 100, 101 is attached to an innersurface of a main body 105. It describes that left and right scapulae ofthe wearer are surrounded with the tension parts 101 to 102, so that theleft and right scapulae are pulled closer toward the inner side in theright and left directions at a rear surface side and a movable range ofthe shoulder joint is widened thereby improving a standing posture andsupporting the erector muscle of the spine.

Furthermore, the movable region of the arm joint is widened by notarranging the tension section at the position covering an armhole so asnot to inhibit the movement of deltoid muscles.

The undershirt disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.2004-44070 (patent document 2) has a function of actively improving themovement of the shoulders and the arms at the time of pitching and atthe time of impact. Such undershirt is made from three types of, firstto third, stretch materials in which the tightening force is differed inthree stages, where the tightening force is first material <secondmaterial <third material.

As shown in FIG. 19, the second material is the material of the mainpart, where a region 110 extending from a portion of triceps brachiimuscle towards an elbow is formed by the first material having a weakertightening force than the material of the main part, and a pair of leftand right regions 111 of large area extending from the inner side of thedeltoid muscles toward the scapula in continuation to the region 110 onthe arm side is formed by the third material with stronger tighteningforce.

The garment provided with a high tightening force part is also proposedin Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 9-25008 (patent document3), Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-263362 (patentdocument 4), and the like, but the configuration is such that theband-shaped high tightening force part is traversed across the rearsurface from left to right and extended to the arm.

PATENT DOCUMENT

-   Patent document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.    2006-320640-   Patent document 2: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.    2004-44070-   Patent document 3: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.    09-25008-   Patent document 4: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.    2004-263362

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It has been discovered that, if the tension section including thetension parts 101 to 102 is arranged over the entire region of the upperside region of the back as in the posture correcting garment of patentdocument 1, the tightening feeling of the entire upper side region ofthe back becomes strong. If the tightening feeling becomes strong, thewearer tends to hunch to take a posture that alleviates the tighteningfeeling, in which case, the tightening feeling may increase, as opposedto a posture of elevating the chest and widening the left and rightscapulae.

Furthermore, the tension section does not cover from the shoulder to thesleeve so as not to inhibit the movement of the deltoid muscles to widenthe movable range of the shoulder joint, but if the arm drops forward atthe time of fatigue and the like, the deltoid muscles may adduct and theleft and right scapulae may be pulled by the deltoid muscles so as toeasily be in a left and right widening direction as the tension sectionis not provided between the shoulder joints. In such a case, it isdifficult to expand the left and right scapulaes to improve a postureunless the force of pulling the left and right scapulae to each other ismade stronger by the tension section. If the force of the tensionsection is made stronger to improve a posture, however, the tighteningfeeling at the upper region of the back may further increase.

The undershirt of patent document 2 has a function of actively assistingthe movement of the shoulders and the arms at the time of hitting and atthe time of impact, but the tightening feeling on the back side isstrong, similar to patent document 1, as the region 11 of large areahaving strong tightening force is spread over the region excluding thecentral back muscle portion of the upper region of the back, and henceit cannot be worn daily. Furthermore, since the region 111 of large areathat is in contact with the scapulae is arranged on both left and rightsides with the central part of the back having weak tightening force inbetween, the wearer feels as if a strong force is loaded on both leftand right sides of the back, and the left and right scapulae tend toeasily adduct with the central part of weak tightening force in between.

If a high tightening part is arranged traversing the back as in thegarments of patent document 3 and patent document 4, the tighteningfeeling on the back side becomes stronger and the comfortableness as anunderwear to wear daily is damaged, similar to patent documents 1, 2.

Therefore, the garment having the functionality to assist exercise or tocorrect the posture provided in the related art has a portion withincreased tightening force to be arranged on a back surface sidearranged in large area at the upper side region of the back, or isarranged so as to traverse the back by taping, and hence the tighteningfeeling and the oppressing feeling on the back side are strong, and anuncomfortable feeling is occurs when worn daily for a long period oftime. Thus, improvement can be made as a garment to be worn daily inorder to improve the body function and not limited to during exercise.

The present invention provides a garment that can be worn daily withoutthe tightening feeling and with satisfactory fitting, the garment beingcapable of improving the body function at the time of daily performancesuch as a sitting posture, a standing posture, and a walking posturewhen worn.

Specifically, a garment is provided that is capable of increasing anadduction of the scapulae and maintaining the backward movement of theshoulders by wearing, and inducing the elevation of the rib cage andobtaining a posture in which the back is straightened, and improving thebody function by reducing heart rates and breath rate based thereon.

In order to solve the above problems, a first aspect of the inventionprovides a garment including,

a main part which includes front and back body sections, and sleevesextending from the front and back body sections towards both arm sidesover shoulders; and

a pair of first tightening parts separately placed in left and rightareas located at the positions of right and left deltoid musclescovering a boundary of the wearer's shoulder and upper arm in the backside, wherein

the front and back body sections and the upper arm sections of thesleeves include at least two kinds of stretch materials, which differ instretchability from each other, including a material for the main partand a material for the first tightening parts having a lowerstretchability than the main part. Accordingly, the first tighteningparts are more strongly contact with the deltoid muscles than othersites.

The front and back body sections and the sleeves may be separate bodiesor may integrally configure the main part.

As mentioned above, the garment is formed from the main part other thanthe left and right shoulders and the areas of the deltoid muscles of theupper arm, and a high tightening part of large area or a high tighteningpart that traverses the back are not provided at the back. Thetightening feeling and the oppressing feeling on the back side are thusremoved. If the main part is formed from a material having satisfactorystretchability and preferably a thin material, the garment can be fittedto the body of the wearer so that the wearer does not feel anuncomfortable feeling, and hence can be worn daily.

Tightening parts with lower stretchability than other sites are arrangedat the area corresponding to the deltoid muscles at the back of thewearer so as to strongly be contact with and stimulate the deltoidmuscles at the back of the wearer than other sites. The wearer then canconstantly be conscious of the deltoid muscles at the back, so that theleft and right scapulae can be induced in the adducting direction ofapproaching each other and the left and right shoulders can be inducedto spread towards the back side.

The first tightening part may appropriately disperse the tighteningforce by being formed to a point group.

The deltoid muscles at the back are the sites bridging between theshoulder regions and the sleeve regions with the boundary position(shoulder) of the front and back body sections and the sleeves inbetween on the garment side.

Normally, a posture tends to be a slouching posture leaning towards thefront side at the time of fatigue or stress, and the left and rightscapulae tend to bend towards the front side and the rib cage tends toeasily narrow. In such a case, the wearer can be conscious so as not totake the slouching posture of leaning forward by constantly stimulatingthe deltoid muscles at the back.

Furthermore, since the first tightening parts of low stretchability arearranged at the site of the deltoid muscles continuing to the left andright scapulae, even when the left and right scapulae attempt to bendtoward the front side, the first tightening parts do not follow themovement of the left and right scapulae, and induce the left and rightscapulae in the adducting direction of approaching each other, and pullthe left and right scapulae toward the back side thereby aiding in thedirection of elevating the rib cage.

Moreover, in the daily movement such as a sitting posture, a standingposture, and a walking other than at the time of fatigue and stress, thefirst tightening parts induce the left and right scapulae toward theback side thereby elevating the rib cage, so that a posture in which theback muscle is straightened can be constantly held.

With a posture in which the rib cage is elevated and the back muscle isstraightened, the heart rates can be prevented from increasing and canbe further reduced during sitting, standing, and walking.

Similarly, with regards to a breath rate, the breath rate can beprevented from increasing and can be further reduced during the dailybehavior.

With regards to the heart rate and the breath rate, the breathing tendsto become light or smothering may occur and the heart rate and thebreath rate increase in the stress state. The heart rate and the breathrate gradually increase when standing up suddenly or even when walking,whereby breathing becomes heavy and walking may not be continued.

In such a case, as mentioned above, an increase in the heart rate andbreath rate can be suppressed and further reduced, and the body functioncan be enhanced by wearing the garment.

Therefore, the tense feeing can be alleviated and a relaxed stable statecan be obtained so as to be in a physically and mentally cleared stateby wearing the garment. As a result, the work can be continuedpositively and efficiently when worn during work.

Furthermore, as walking is recommended to enhance health in recentyears, long time duration of walking and exercise can be carried outwithout effort. It is actually found that the step and the walking speedalso increase.

When in the state where the rib cage is elevated and the chest iselevated, the upper arms from the left and right shoulders to the elbowsare also induced to the body side position from the front side.

Therefore, a posture in which the chest is elevated, the back muscle isstraightened and the left and right hands are at the body side positionsbecomes a correct posture in appearance during sitting and duringstanding, and gives a favorable impression.

During walking, the left and right shoulders are induced to the backside, so that the left and right hands can also be greatly swung to theback side thus giving a favorable impression of walking lively.

The first tightening part with lower stretchability than the main partis preferably formed from one of the means selected from (1) to (4).

(1) A patch made from the same material as or a different material fromthe main part is overlapped on an outer surface or an inner surface ofthe main part, and then sewed, or adhered or thermal compression bondedusing a resin adhesive.(2) A patch made from a different material from the main part is filledand arranged in an opening provided in the main part, and joining endedges are sewed.(3) A fabric is changed from the main part with the same material as ora different material from the main part.(4) An elastic resin is applied to the main body.

A synthetic fiber such as polyester and polyamide, a cellulose fibersuch as rayon and cotton, and a natural fiber such as wool and silk areappropriately used for the main material in the material of the mainpart with satisfactory stretchability. These materials may be mixed bycombined knitting, insertion, pulling and the like for use. The stretchmaterial is preferably mixed to give stretchability to the material ofthe main part. A polyurethane elastic fiber, a polyester elastomericfiber, a PTT complex finished yarn (side by side bimetal yarn havingpoly trimethylene terephthalate as main component) and the like areappropriately used for the stretch material.

If the material of the main part is made thin and lighter weight, thewear comfort can be improved without applying a load on the wearer.Specifically, fabric weight is preferably 100 to 200 g/m². This isbecause the main part likely becomes sheer and tends to easily rip ifsmaller than 100 g/m², and becomes thick and heavy and thus causing amassive feeling and hardness and affecting the comfortability if greaterthan 200 g/m². Fabric weight of the main part is more specifically 120to 170 g/m².

The first tightening part is made to have lower stretchability than themain part using the methods (1) to (4).

When overlapping with the main part using the patch of (1), thetightening force can be enhanced even if the patch is the same materialas the main part, and the tightening force become stronger if the patchis overlapped on the main part using the material with lowerstretchability than the main part.

When adhering the patch to the main part using the resin adhesive, athermoplastic hot melt resin is suitably used for the resin adhesive,and may be a hot melt resin of polyurethane, polyester, polyolefin,styrene and the like.

The method of applying the resin adhesive prevents hardness of thefabric of the main part, where the resin is preferably applied indot-form rather than being applied over the entire surface to ensure airpermeability of the laminated portion with the fabric.

When filling and arranging the patch formed with a different material atthe opening provided in the main part and sewing the joining edges of(2), the tightening force becomes stronger by using the material oflower stretchability than the main part for the patch.

When changing the fabric from the main part with the same material as ora different material from the main part of (3), the stretchability ofthe portion where the fabric is changed is made lower than the main partto provide high tightening force.

In the means for changing the fabric, the tightening part preferablyadopts the fabric of reducing the loop length or increasing the numberof sinker loops per unit area to suppress deformation of the loop.

The knitting yarn may be changed for the main part and the tighteningpart, where the knitting yarn of low stretchability may be used for thetightening part or a thermal fusion yarn may be used and heated afterknitting to be integrally cured.

Changing the fabric or the knitting yarn so that the first tighteningpart is in point group is more preferable since the tightening part canbe appropriately dispersed.

When applying the elastic resin to the main part of (4) to give hightightening force, the elastic resin for use includes silicone, urethane,acryl, nylon, and the like. A cross linking agent or a penetrating agentmay be contained in the elastic resin as necessary to enhance thepermeability and the application intensity to the fabric of the mainpart.

Spraying, transferring, screen printing, and rotary printing may beappropriately used for the application method.

Patterns in a mode (area application) of applying all over the range toexert the tightening force, a mode (linear application) of applying in astripe form, a mode (point group application) of applying in dot formmay be appropriately used for the application mode. Among them, thepoint group application is most preferable since the tightening forcecan be appropriately dispersed. The application mode may have patternsof different types coexisting or patterns of different sizes coexisting.

The knitted material having stretchability is suitably used for thefabric of the main part. The knitted material includes lateral knittedmaterial and circular knitted material, and may be either as long as asatisfactory stretchability is obtained.

The stretchability of the first tightening part is lower than that ofthe main part, as described above. Specifically, the contraction forceat the time of 30% extension of the first tightening part is preferablygreater than or equal to two times and smaller than or equal to tentimes the contraction force at the time of 30% extension of the mainpart. More preferably, it is greater than or equal to three times andsmaller than or equal to eight times.

In the present invention, the contraction force is measured with thefollowing method. Assume that a direction of highest stretchability isan A direction and a direction perpendicular to the A direction is a Bdirection. A rectangular sample having a length of 16 centimetersparallel to the A direction and a width of 2.5 centimeters in thedirection (B direction) perpendicular to the A direction is collectedfor the main part and the first tightening part. With respect to thesample, both ends on the short side of the rectangle were clamped at aclamping interval of 10 centimeters and a 0 to 80% stretching processwas repeated for three times with the tension test equipment, and therecovery force at the time point of 30% extension at the time of thirdunloading, that is, the contraction force, was measured based on the cutstrip method of JIS L 1018.

If the tightening part is formed by overlapping the patch of (1) on themain part, the sample of the tightening part is in a state where thematerial for forming the main part and the patch are overlapped, and isnot a single patch.

The contraction force of the first tightening part is preferably greaterthan or equal to two times and smaller than or equal to ten times thecontraction force of the main part in both A direction and B directionmeasured in the relevant method. This is because the stimulation toapply on the muscle serving as the tightening part may lack if smallerthan two times, and the stimulation on the muscle becomes too strong andmay give an uncomfortable feeling if greater than ten times.

An area of each first tightening part arranged on the left and the rightis preferably 10 cm² to 300 cm². More preferably, it is 30 cm² to 100cm². The contacting pressure that stimulates the left and right shoulderdeltoid muscles may be small if smaller than 10 cm². The shoulder mayfeel an oppressing feeling if greater than 300 cm².

The first tightening part is preferably arranged one each on the leftand the right, but may be in plurals separately each on the left and theright.

The shape of each first tightening part on the left and the right is ashape in which an upper part is branched to a shoulder region side and asleeve region side, and left and right side edges at a lower part areconverged towards a middle of the lower end when divided to the shoulderregion spreading to the back side and the sleeve region spreading to thearm side with the shoulder in between.

In the case of a shape in which the upper part shape is branched to theshoulder region and the sleeve region, the movement of the arms is notsuppressed and the load by the first tightening part can be actedwithout being dispersed by continuing the lower parts.

The back side of the sleeve is sewed to the back body section as araglan sleeve, and the first tightening part is preferably arranged atthe raglan sleeve.

As described above, since the first tightening part is arranged coveringthe shoulder and the sleeve at the back, if the sewing line of the backbody section and the sleeve is the set-in line along the shoulder hole,the first tightening part is positioned over the sewing line, which isnot preferable as sewing becomes difficult and it is not visuallysatisfactory. Furthermore, in the case of the raglan sleeve with theback body section and the back sleeve sewed at the raglan line, thestretchability is suppressed at the sewing line, and the action of thefirst tightening part positioned on the raglan sleeve side can befurther enhanced.

The sleeve may be a short sleeve or a long sleeve, and is a sleeve inwhich at least the first tightening part can be arranged.

The front side of the sleeve may be a sleeve to be sewed to the frontbody section along the shoulder hole, that is, the set-in line. In thiscase, the outer appearance on the front side has a shape similar to anormal shirt and can be made elegant.

The front part may be a raglan sleeve, similar to the back part.

The sleeve portion may be a long sleeve, and a second tightening part ofband-shape for alleviating arm fatigue, which passes obliquely through acommon digital extensor muscle from an inner side of a wrist towards theouter side of an elbow, may be arranged on a forearm from the wrist tothe elbow. The second tightening part has a lower stretchability thanthe main part.

The second tightening part may be arranged in the same mode as the firsttightening part, or the tightening part may be arranged in other modesdescribed in (1) to (4).

The contraction force of the second tightening part may be the same asthe first tightening part or may be different, but the stretchability islower than the sleeve main part.

In recent years, the personal computer and the like are often operatedcontinuously for a long period time, in which case fatigue accumulatesat the portion from the wrist continuing to the fingers to the elbow andthe arm may feel heavy, which tends to lower an operating efficiency.Similarly, when performing tasks that use arms such as with a hasher ora component assembly worker, the fatigue easily accumulates at the armthereby lowering the operating efficiency.

If the second tightening part of band shape for alleviating arm fatiguethat passes obliquely through the common digital extensor muscle from aninner side of a wrist towards the outer side of an elbow is arranged atthe forearm from the wrist to the elbow, the common digital extensormuscle can be stimulated, and the holding force of the forearm can beenhanced thereby aiding the movement of the arm. As a result, thefatigue of the arm can be reduced and the lowering of the operatingefficiency can be suppressed.

The second tightening parts respectively have a width of 3 cm to 10 cm.More preferably, it is in the range of 4 cm to 5 cm. The effect ofreducing the fatigue may be low if smaller than 3 cm, and a constrictionfeeling may arise if greater than 10 cm.

The garment is an upper garment, and is preferably an undershirt, or anouter upper garment including those for sports and rehabilitation.Furthermore, it is also suitably used in a swimming wear, a leotard, andthe like.

The garment of the present invention is not limited to the upper garmenton the top side, and the front and back body sections may continuouslyinclude a lower body section reaching to at least the femoral area, ormay couple the lower body sections in attachable/detachable mannerthrough a connecting portion.

The main part of the lower body section is preferably made from astretch material.

The lower body section preferably includes a band-shaped thirdtightening part along a waist, a fourth tightening part for holding downa middle of a buttocks arranged up to a position corresponding to asacral bone in continuation to a middle of the back of the thirdtightening part, and a band shaped fifth tightening part arranged alonga hip joint at a base of the femoral area on the back side.

The third to fifth tightening parts may have lower stretchability andhigher contraction force in a mode similar to the first tightening part,or may have lower stretchability in other modes described in (1) to (4).

The contraction force of the third to fifth tightening parts may be thesame as the first tightening part or may be different, but thestretchability is lower than the main part.

As described above, the lower body section may be arranged integrallywith the upper body section by continuing the main parts, or aconnection piece may be coupled. In this case, it may be opened andclosed at a crotch portion.

The upper body section and the lower body section may be coupled inattaching/detaching manner with a button, a fastener, and the like.

If the lower body section is arranged, and the fourth tightening part isarranged at the site corresponding to the sacral bone of the lower bodysection, that is, at the position immediately before the gluteal cleft,the position of the sacral bone is positioned at the middle of thebuttocks and thus in contact with the middle of the buttocks strongerthan other sites to securely hold it down, thereby stabilizing thecenter position of the lower body.

Normally when fatigue accumulates, the upper body tends to lean forwardand the lower body tends to lean backward. In this case, the thirdtightening part holds down the middle of the buttocks from the backside, and thus the buttocks is suppressed from being on the back sideand leaning forward in the standing posture. As a result, a straightposture is realized, the center of gravity position becomes higher andthe waist position becomes higher. In particular, the standing postureand the walking posture are aided to a straight posture with asynergetic effect with the action of straightening the back muscle onthe top side.

With the arrangement of the band shaped third tightening part along thewaist, the body can be securely held at the center position in the upand down direction. A boundary position of the lower body and the upperbody can be securely held with the third tightening part, the lower bodycan be induced to a vertical state with the force of pushing the sacralbone with the lower body section, the chest is elevated with the firsttightening part and the back muscle is straightened, so that thestanding posture becomes straight and a preferable appearance can bepresented.

Furthermore, the fifth tightening part arranged along the hip joint ofthe back extends from both sides of the crotch portion towards a lowerabdomen at the back side of the base of the femoral area to support thehip joint. The fifth tightening part enables a balanced walking withoutcausing unbalance in the body at the time of walking, and pushes thefemoral area forward at the time of waking thereby aiding the movementof the leg during walking and making the step larger.

On the upper body side, the swing of the left and right hands to theback side becomes larger with the first tightening part, andfurthermore, the movement of the leg at the time of walking becomeslarge, so that walking lively in a correct walking posture can berealized.

A sixth tightening part continuing to the third tightening part passingobliquely upward towards at a middle of the front part along the hipjoint on the front side in continuation to the fifth tightening part andthen passing obliquely upward towards the back side, and a seventhtightening part arranged in continuation to the third tightening part tothe lower abdomen of the middle of the front sandwiched by the front endedges of the sixth tightening parts on the left and right sides andhaving the lower end position up to the intermediate position of alength reaching a crotch portion from the waist line are preferablyarranged at the lower abdomen at the front part of the lower bodysection.

Similar to the first to fifth tightening parts, the sixth and seventhtightening parts also have lower stretchability than the main part, andare formed in one of the modes of (1) to (4).

If the sixth tightening part is arranged along the hip joint on thefront side in continuation to the fifth tightening part along the hipjoint at the base of the femoral area on the back side, the movement ofthe femoral area can be supported at the time of walking.

If the tightening part is arranged on the lower side than the base ofthe femoral area at the front part, a force that suppresses the movementof the leg to the front side at the time of walking tends to occur, butthe load is not applied on the femoral area since the hip joint at theback side of the femoral area that becomes the supporting point of themovement of the leg to the front side is securely held down but theentire femoral area is not held down. Furthermore, since the fourth andfifth tightening parts of band-shape are arranged along the hip joint atthe base of the femoral area from the back side to the lower abdomenside, the walking can be aided without causing unbalance in time ofwalking.

If the portion that is in contact with the lower abdomen on the frontside entirely has a high tightening force with the sixth tightening partand the seventh tightening part, the force can be easily applied to thelower abdomen and a stable state can be reliably realized with the frontand the back of the lower body. Thus, a secure and clear posture isobtained in commuting and outing without feeling tired.

The lower end position of the seventh tightening part is a positionimmediately before reaching the local area that bulges out for malegarments so as not to generate tightening feeling and uncomfortablefeeling.

The second aspect of the invention provides a garment of top and bottomset with a top garment including an upper body section and a bottomgarment including a lower body section.

The top garment corresponds to the upper body section of the firstaspect of the invention and the bottom garment corresponds to the lowerbody section of the first aspect of the invention, which are arranged asseparate bodies and can be worn as a set.

In other words, the top garment includes a main part which includesfront and back body sections and sleeves extending from the front andback body sections towards both arm sides over shoulders integrally oras separate bodies, and a pair of first tightening parts separatelyplaced in left and right areas located at the positions of right andleft deltoid muscles covering a boundary of the wearer's shoulder andupper arm in the back side. The front and back body sections and theupper arm sections of the sleeves are made from at least two kinds ofstretch materials, which differ in stretchability from each other,including a material for the main part and a material for the firsttightening parts having a lower stretchability than the main part.

The bottom garment includes a lower body section reaching to at least afemoral area; and a main part of the lower body section is made from astretch material. The lower body section includes a fourth tighteningpart for holding down a middle of a buttocks arranged at a positioncorresponding to a sacral bone, and a fifth tightening part arranged ina band shape along a hip joint at a base of the femoral area on the backside. The fourth tightening part and the fifth tightening part havelower stretchability than the main part.

When the top garment and the bottom garment are worn as a set, thefatigue on both the upper body side and the lower body side can bereduced, and a physically and mentally cleared state can be achieved.

Since the chest is elevated with the top garment, the back muscle isstraightened, and the middle of the buttocks is held down and the hipjoint is held with the bottom garment, the standing posture becomes astraight and correct posture, and furthermore, the step becomes greaterat the time of walking and the hands can be swung to the back sidegreatly, thereby aiding the correct walking posture. In addition, thestep and the walking speed can also be increased.

According to the garment of the first aspect of the invention, the firsttightening parts are arranged on the left and the right separately atthe site of the left and right shoulder deltoid muscles, therebystimulating the shoulder deltoid muscles of the wearer so as to beconscious, inducing the left and right scapulae to expand to the backside without generating a tightening feeling on the back side tostraighten the back. As a result, an increase in heart rate and breathrate can be suppressed or reduced, and the body function can be enhancedin simply wearing. The step and the walking speed can also be increased.

According to the set garment of the second aspect of the invention, thecenter of gravity of the lower body can be stabilized with the bottomgarment, and hence the walking posture can be induced to a straight andcorrect posture together with the top garment. Furthermore, the femoralarea can be pushed forward and the walking is aided, so that the stepincreases at the time of walking and the swing of the hands to the backside can be made large with the top garment, whereby the walking posturecan be aided to the correct posture with a large step and a large swingof the hands.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an undershirt of a first embodiment of the presentinvention, where (A) is a rear view and (B) is a front view.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of main parts of FIG. 1(B).

FIG. 3 shows a variant of the first embodiment, where (A) is an enlargedview of main parts of a first variant, (B), is an enlarged view of mainparts of the first variant, (C) is a rear view of a third variant, and(D) is a rear view of a seventh variant.

FIG. 4 shows a top-bottom connected garment of a second embodiment,where (A) is a rear view and (B) is a front view.

FIG. 5 shows a variant of the second embodiment, where (A) is anenlarged view of main parts of a first variant, and (B) is an enlargedview of main parts of a second variant.

FIG. 6 shows a third embodiment, where (A) is a back view and (B) is afront view.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a marker position given to a subject in anexperimental example.

FIG. 8 is a photo showing a walking posture of the subject in theexperimental example.

FIG. 9(A) is a photo showing a posture when the garment of the presentinvention is worn, and FIG. 9(B) is a photo showing a posture when notworn.

FIGS. 10(A) to 10(C) are views describing a three-dimensional operatinganalysis of the experimental example.

FIGS. 11(A) to 11(C) are graphs showing a change in center of gravityduring walking of the experimental example.

FIG. 12 is a graph showing a change in a breath rate during walking.

FIG. 13 is a graph showing average data of a change in a breath rate ofthe subject.

FIG. 14 is a graph of a heart rate of the experimental example.

FIG. 15 is a graph showing the change by elapse of time of an averageheart rate and an exercise intensity of all subjects.

FIGS. 16(A) to 16(F) are graphs showing a heart rate of six subjects.

FIG. 17 is a graph showing a heart rate and a fluctuation of the heartrate for one subject.

FIG. 18 is a view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 19 is a view showing another conventional example.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

One example of an embodiment of the present invention will be describedbelow with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show an undershirt according to a first embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the first embodiment relates to along-sleeved undershirt 1. The undershirt 1 includes a front bodysection 2, a back body section 3, and left and right long sleeves 4. Thefront and back body sections 2, 3 have a length that reaches to at leastthe waist line, and have a length that reaches to the stomach in thepresent embodiment. Main parts 20, 30, 40 of the front and back bodysections 2, 3 and the sleeves 4 are made from a knit knitted fabric offirst stretch material. The left and right sleeves 4 are respectivelyformed from one cloth, where the lower end edge is sewed to obtain atubular shape. The sleeves 4 are raglan sleeves, where the shoulder sideend edges of the front and back body sections 2, 3 and the shoulder sideend edges of the sleeves 4 are sewed to a raglan line.

As shown in a rear view of FIG. 1A and FIG. 2, first tightening parts 5are arranged at positions corresponding to left and right shoulderdeltoid muscles TM at the outer surface of the upper section of the rear(back) of the sleeve 4 serving as the raglan sleeve. The pair of leftand right first tightening parts 5 separately arranged at the shoulderdeltoid muscles on both side, are made from a second stretch materialhaving lower stretchability than the main parts 20, 30 and 40. The firsttightening part 5 is formed by overlapping a patch 50 made from thesecond stretch material on the outer surface of the main part 40 of thesleeve 4, and attaching the same by sewing the peripheral edge of thepatch 50 to the main part 40.

Thus, the undershirt 1 is made from two types of stretch materials, thefirst stretch material with satisfactory stretchability for forming themain parts 20 to 40, and the second stretch material having lowerstretchability for forming the first tightening part 5. The firsttightening parts placed at the positions of left and right shoulderdeltoid muscles are in contact with the shoulder deltoid muscles of thewearer stronger than other areas thereby stimulating the shoulderdeltoid muscles.

The left and right first tightening parts 5 are each positioned tobridge between a shoulder region and a sleeve region with the shoulderin between on the back surface side of the raglan sleeve. The shape ofeach first tightening part 5 is a substantially heart shape where theupper part includes a branched portion 5 a branched to the shoulderregion side and a branched portion 5 b branched to the sleeve regionside, and the left and right side edges 5 c, 5 d at the lower partconverge towards the middle of the lower end.

The area of each first tightening part is in the range of 10 cm² to 300cm², and is about 30 cm² in the present embodiment.

The contraction force of the main part and the first tightening part isdefined by being measured through the measurement method describedabove. In other words, assuming a direction of highest stretchability asA direction and a direction perpendicular to the A direction as Bdirection, a rectangular sample having a length of 16 centimetersparallel to the A direction and a width of 2.5 centimeters in thedirection (B direction) perpendicular to the A direction is collectedfor the main part and the first tightening part. With respect to thesample, both ends on the short side of the rectangle sample were clampedat a clamping interval of 10 centimeters and a 0 to 80% stretchingprocess was repeated for three times with the tension test equipment,and the recovery force at the time point of 30% extension at the time ofthird unloading was calculated as “UP30” based on the cut strip methodof JIS L 1018.

In the present embodiment, the fabric of the main parts 20 to 40 is madefrom a circular knitted fabric, the A direction of higheststretchability being a horizontal direction, and the fabric of the firsttightening part 5 is made from a warp knitted fabric, the A direction ofhighest stretchability being a vertical direction.

An UP30 in the A direction of the main parts 20 to 40 is 50 cN and theUP30 in the A direction of the first tightening part 5 is 145 cN. The Bdirection of the main parts 20 to 40 is the vertical direction, the Bdirection of the first tightening part 5 is the horizontal direction,the UP30 in the B direction of the main parts 20 to 40 is 55 cN, and theUP30 in the B direction of the first tightening part 5 is 151 cN. Inother words, the first tightening part has a contraction force of threetimes the main part and gives a lower stretchability in both directionsof the vertical direction and the horizontal direction.

The contraction force of the first tightening part is not limited tothree times the main part, and may be made stronger to eight times orabout ten times.

The main parts 20, 30 and 40 have a thin thickness. Specifically, thefabric weight is 100 to 200 g/m².

At the left and right sleeves 4, a band-shaped second tightening part 6for alleviating the arm fatigue that passes obliquely through the commondigital extensor muscle from the inner side of the side end of the wristto the outer side of the elbow is provided at the forearm from the wristto the elbow. The second tightening part 6 is formed by a cloth 60 madefrom the same second stretch material as the first tightening part 5,the cloth 60 being overlapped on the outer surface of the main part 40and the peripheral edge thereof is sewed. The width W1 of the secondtightening part 6 is in the range of 3 cm to 10 cm, and is 4.5 mm widthin the present embodiment. The second tightening part 6 may not bearranged even if the sleeves 4 are long sleeves.

In the undershirt 1 having the above configuration, the main parts 20,30 and 40 can be entirely fitted to the body of the wearer since theyare made from the thin first stretch material that has a satisfactorystretch, and hence a tightening feeling does not occur and anuncomfortable feeling does not occur when worn.

The wearer can always be conscious of the shoulder deltoid muscles sincethe first tightening parts 5 strongly are in contact with the shoulderdeltoid muscles at the back side, and can have the left and rightscapulae adducted to move closer to each other and induce the left andright shoulders to spread wide towards the back side so that the wearerdoes not take the posture in which the left and right scapulae areinclined forward at the time of fatigue and stress. Furthermore, even ifthe left and right scapulae incline forward to a slouched posture, theleft and right first tightening parts 5 do not follow the forwardinclination of the left and right scapulae, and the force in a directionof pulling the left and right scapulae to the back side act therebyenlarging the rib cage elevate and inducing the back muscle in astraightening direction. Regarding the positions of the left and righthands also, the upper arm and the elbow can be induced to the back sideto be positioned along the side of the body, so that the upper body canbe held in a state where the rib cage is elevated and the back muscle isstraightened.

As a result, an increase in heart rate and the breath rate can besuppressed and even reduced, as shown in the examples to be describedlater. The back muscle can be straightened and the head can be held atthe vertical position along the backbone so as not to take the postureleaned forward as a whole but to inductively take a straight posture.

Furthermore, since the second tightening part 6 is arranged to pass thecommon digital extensor muscle obliquely at the sleeve 4, the commondigital extensor muscle can be stimulated and the holding force of theforearm section can be enhanced. As a result, the fatigue of the arm canbe reduced and the lowering of the operating efficiency can besuppressed.

FIG. 3A shows a first variant of the first embodiment. In the firstvariant, each of the left and right first tightening part 5 provided ateach area of the left and right shoulder deltoid muscle is separated toa back side part 5-A and a shoulder side part 5-B with a space. Thus,effects similar to the first embodiment can be obtained even if thefirst tightening part 5 is formed by two configuring elements as long asthe shoulder deltoid muscle can be stimulated.

FIG. 3B shows a second variant of the first embodiment. In the secondvariant, a sewing line of the front body section 2 and the sleeve 4 is aset-in line along an armhole, and the sewing line of the back bodysection 3 and the sleeve 4 is the raglan line same as the above. Inother words, the outer appearance on the front side is the shape of atypical undershirt as a typical set-in line since the first tighteningpart is not attached to the front part.

FIG. 3C shows a third variant of the first embodiment. In the thirdvariant, only the first tightening part 5 is arranged and the secondtightening part 6 is not arranged since the sleeve 4-A is short sleeve.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the first tightening part has thepatch 50 provided by being sewed to the outer surface of the main part40, but may be attached to the inner surface side of the main part.

In a fourth variant of the first embodiment, the stretch material forthe patch of the first and second tightening parts is the same materialas the stretch material of the main part. The patch of the first andsecond tightening parts is applied with resin adhesive at the peripheraledge of the patch and applied in dot form at the interior region tosecurely attach the first and second tightening parts to the main part.

The hot melt resin of polyurethane, polyester, polyolefin, styrene, andthe like is used for the resin adhesive.

Thus, the stretchability becomes lower and the contraction force becomesstronger than the main part even if the patches of the first and secondtightening parts are the same as the fabric of the main part byoverlapping and interposing the resin adhesive.

In a fifth variant of the fifth embodiment, an elastic resin is appliedto the relevant portion of the main part 40 of the sleeve to provide thefirst and second tightening parts instead of using the patch for thefirst and second tightening parts 5, 6 formed with the patch shown inFIG. 1.

A cross-linking agent or a penetrating agent may be contained in themain agent including silicone, urethane, acryl, or nylon for the elasticresin, and applied all over the portion to become the first and secondtightening parts by transfer.

The application method is not limited to transfer, and may be spraying,screen printing, rotary printing, and the like. The application mode maybe a linear application to a stripe shape, pointed application to dotshape, and the like.

Therefore, the first and second tightening parts do not stand out on theouter appearance by arranging the first and second tightening partswithout attaching the patch. Furthermore, the feel against the skin ismore satisfactory than that in a case where the first and secondtightening parts are arranged by attaching the patch on the innersurface side.

Similar to the fifth variant, a sixth variant of the first embodimentalso does not form the first and second tightening parts with the patchbut form the tightening parts by changing the fabric. The knittingmanner of reducing the loop length or increasing the number of sinkerloops in the unit area to suppress the deformation of the loop isadopted in the first and second tightening parts.

FIG. 3D shows a seventh variant of the first embodiment. In the seventhembodiment, the first tightening part in the third variant of FIG. 3C isformed by applying the elastic resin to a point group form. Thetightening force can be appropriately dispersed by applying in a pointgroup form.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show a garment according to a second embodiment.

In the second embodiment, a top-bottom connected garment 11 is formed bycontinuing a bottom 12 that covers the lower body section from the waistline to the femoral area of the upper leg to the top 11 that covers theupper half of the body having the same shape as the undershirt 1 of thefirst embodiment. The top-bottom connected garment 11 is a garment formen but may be for women.

A main part 121 of the bottom 12 of the lower body section is formed bysewing three patterns of left and right main parts 21 a and a frontcentral part 21 b, made from the first stretch material to the center onthe back part and both sides on the front part. The lower end of themain part 21 is positioned at substantially the middle in the up anddown direction of the femoral area.

The bottom 12 is provided with a band-shaped third tightening part 13having a width of about 5 cm from an upper end of the waist line WL overthe entire periphery. The third tightening part 13 has a lowerstretchability than the main part, and hence strongly fits around thewaist even if a rubber band and the like is not arranged along the waistline WL. The rubber band may be attached along the waist line WL.

At the back (buttocks) side, a fourth tightening part 14 for holding themiddle of the buttocks is arranged up to the position corresponding tothe sacrum, that is, the position reaching to the gluteal cleft incontinuation to the middle on the back of the third tightening part 13,and a fifth tightening part 15 of band-shape inclined to the upper sideis arranged along the hip joint at the base of the femoral area.

A sixth tightening part 16 continuing to the fifth tightening part 15and passed obliquely upward towards the lower abdomen at the middle ofthe front part along the hip joint on the front side and then passedobliquely upward towards the back side and continued to the thirdtightening part 13 is arranged at the front part of the bottom 12, and aseventh tightening part 17 is arranged at the lower abdomen of themiddle of the front part sandwiched by the front end edges of the leftand right sixth tightening parts 16.

The sixth and seventh tightening parts 16, 17 are continued to the thirdtightening part 13 around the waist.

The lower end position Po of the seventh tightening part 17 at themiddle of the lower abdomen is the intermediate position of the lengthfrom the waist line to the crotch portion and is terminated at aposition immediately before reaching the local area that bulges out.

The cutting and the sewing are carried out so as to bulge out towardsthe front side while dividing the front central part 21 b to the leftand the right by the position of reaching the tip of the crotch portionfrom the seventh tightening part 17.

The third to the seventh tightening parts 13 to 17 are formed by a patchmade from the second stretch material with low stretchability same asthe first and second tightening parts 5, 6 of the first embodiment, andare sewed to the outer surface of the main part 21.

The lower end position Pu of the fourth tightening part 14 for holdingdown the middle of the buttocks is in the range of 8 cm to 16 cm to thelower side from the waist line WL, and is positioned at 11 cm in thepresent embodiment. Furthermore, the maximum width W2 in the left andright direction is 4 cm to 10 cm, and is 6 cm in the present embodiment.

The left and right fifth tightening arts 15 extending in a band shapealong the hip joint at the base of the femoral area are inclined to thelower abdomen side from the position of 5 cm to 10 cm (7 cm in thepresent embodiment) to the lower side from the tip of the crotch portionMP with an upward angle θ at 10 degrees to 60 degrees (40 degrees in thepresent embodiment). The upward angle θ is an angle with respect to theperpendicular line of the sewing line with the crotch portion, as shownin the figure.

The width W of the fifth tightening part 15 is 4 cm to 10 cm, and is 6cm in the present embodiment.

The sixth tightening part 16 arranged on the left and the right of thelower abdomen in continuation to the front end of the fifth tighteningpart 15 is passed obliquely upward towards the lower abdomen at themiddle of the front part along the hip joint at the base of the femoralarea on the front part side, and has the lower end edge continued to thelower end edge of the seventh tightening part 17.

The upper side edge is passed obliquely upward with the upper end of theupward inclined part directed to the back side, and continued to thethird tightening part 13.

Thus, the third to the seventh tightening parts 13 to 17 are arranged atthe bottom 12 and the patch of low stretchability is not attached fromthe left and right hips towards the left and right back bulge-out parts.Therefore, the buttocks line bulges out thereby realizing a satisfactoryappearance without inhibiting the movement of a lower back and withoutapplying a load on the left and right bulge-out parts.

At the bottom 12 having the above configuration, the fourth tighteningpart 14 is positioned at the middle of the buttocks at the sitecorresponding to the sacral bone and hence in contact with the middle ofthe buttocks more strongly than other sites and acts to securely hold itdown, whereby the center of gravity position of the lower body can bestabilized.

The body is securely held at the center position in the up and downdirection of the body by the band-shaped third tightening part 13 alongthe waist part, and the lower body is induced to the vertical state withthe force of pushing the sacral bone by the fourth tightening part 14 atthe bottom so that the center of gravity position becomes higher and thewaist line can be held high.

Furthermore, in addition to elevating the chest and straightening theback muscle with the first tightening part 1, the standing posturebecomes straight thereby presenting a preferred outer appearance.

Since the sixth and seventh tightening parts 16, 17 are arranged at thelower abdomen, the lower abdomen can be securely held down, and thecenter of gravity position of the body is supported from the front andthe back to stabilize the body trunk with the holding down action by thefourth tightening part 14 positioned at the middle on the back side.

As the fourth tightening part 14 is not extended at the position alongthe gluteal cleft, the gluteal cleft of the cleavage of the buttocks canbe appeared as a definite line thus not inhibiting the visual look.

When walking, the fifth and sixth tightening parts 15, 16 are arrangedalong the hip joint at the base of the femoral area for support, therebyaiding the walk without causing unbalance in the body with the fifth andsixth tightening parts 15, 16 as the supporting point during the walk.

Since the femoral area is pushed forward by the existence of the fifthtightening part 15 on the back side, the step becomes greater at thetime of walking. Furthermore, the movement of the leg at the time ofwalking becomes greater with the swing of the left and right hands tothe back side becoming greater by the first tightening part 5 on the topside, which contribute to health enhancement by walking.

The first to seventh tightening parts of the second embodiment areformed by sewing the patch, but may be formed by applying an elasticresin as described in the fifth variant of the first embodiment, or maybe formed by changing the fabric as regulated in the sixth variant.

In the top and bottom connected garment of the second embodiment, thestretchability of the first stretch material of the main part may bemade lower and the stretchability of the second stretch material of thefirst to seventh tightening parts may be further made lower than theundershirt of the first embodiment to realize a leotard that can besuitably worn during walking and during exercise.

The lower end of the bottom 12 may be extended to below the knee.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show a variant of the second embodiment.

In the first variant shown in FIG. 5A, an open/close part 18 is arrangedat the crotch portion and is opened/closed by attaching a hook 18 athereby facilitating urination and bowl movement.

In the second variant shown in FIG. 5B, the top 11 and the bottom 12 areseparated, and are coupled in attachable/detachable manner with a button19 a and a button hole 19 b arranged at the lower side of the top 11 andthe upper end of the bottom 12.

Therefore, if the top 11 and the button 12 can be arbitrarily coupledand separated, the wearer can wear only either one thereby enhancing theconvenience.

FIG. 6 shows a garment of a third embodiment.

The third embodiment is similar to a separating type shown in FIG. 5B,but coupling means is not arranged at the top side and the bottom side.

A top garment 60 has a configuration similar to the top 11, and a bottomgarment 61 has a configuration similar to the bottom 12, but the thirdtightening part 13 is separated from the top side and a rubber band 63is accommodated at a position along the waist line WL at the upper end.

The description on other configurations and effects will be omitted bydenoting the same reference numerals as the second embodiment.

Experimental Example

The heart rate, the breath rate, and the motion capture of the subjectwere measured for when the top garment 60 and the bottom garment 61(hereinafter abbreviated as garment) of the third embodiment were wornby the subject and for when not worn.

In the measurement of the breath rate and the motion capture, thesubjects were three males in the ages of thirties, forties, and fiftieswho do not have abnormality in the movement function. The temperature atthe time of measurement was 25° C. and the humidity was 60%.

In the measurement of the breath rate, the ventilation amount wasmeasured using an exhaled air gas analyzer manufactured from Inter-RehaCo. Ltd. In the measurement of the motion capture, the MX-F opticalthree-dimensional operating analysis system manufactured by VICON wasused, and a marker was given to each position 1 to 35 shown in FIG. 7 tothe subject and the garment worn by the subject. The positions 1 to 35of the marker are as follows.

1: left front head, 2: right front head, 3: left back head, 4: rightback head, 5: seventh spinous process of cervical vertebra, 6: tenthspinous process of dorsal vertebra, 7: center point of left and rightsternoclavicular joint, 8: ensiform cartilage, 9: right back part, 10:acromioclavicular joint, 11: left lateral epicondyle of humerus, 12:front part of left wrist, 13: back part of left wrist, 14: leftfingertip, 15: right acromioclavicular joint, 16: right lateralepicondyle of humerus, 17: front part of right wrist, 18: back part ofright wrist, 19: right finger tip, 20: left anterior superior iliacspine (ASIS), 21: right ASIS, 22: left posterior superior iliac spine(PSIS), 23: right PSIS, 24: left femoral area, 25: left femoral lateralepocondyle, 26: left leg region, 27: left ankle, 28: left foot heel, 29:left second metatarsal bone head, 30: right femoral area, 31: rightfemoral lateral epocondyle, 32: right leg region, 33: right ankle, 34:right foot heel, 35: right second metatarsal bone head.

Three types of measurements were then carried out during the exercise inthe program. After three minutes has elapsed in a resting state whilesitting (hereinafter referred to as sitting and resting posture), aresting state while standing (hereinafter referred to as standing andresting posture) was maintained for five minutes. Thereafter, as shownin the photo in FIG. 8, the walking experiment was conducted on anautomatic walking machine (EDM-T tread mill system manufactured byZebris). The walking experiment was continued for three minutesrespectively at the speed of 1 km, 3 km, and 7 km per hour. Finally, thestanding and resting posture was continued for five minutes.

The last standing and resting posture after walking in the experiment isshown in FIG. 9. FIG. 9A shows a standing posture when wearing the topgarment 60 and the bottom garment 61 of the third embodiment, and FIG.9B shows a standing and resting posture when not wearing the garments.

When wearing the garment of FIG. 9A, the left and right scapulae adductin the direction of approaching each other so that the left and rightshoulders are induced to the back side, thereby elevating the rib cage.The head is held on a vertical line of the spine, so that the body trunkis extended.

When the garments are not worn as shown in FIG. 9B, the posture israther slouched, the rib cage is narrowed, the head is not held on thevertical line of the spine, and the body trunk is not extended asopposed to when the garments are worn as shown in FIG. 9A.

FIGS. 10A, 10B and 10C show the three-dimensional operating analysisdata of VICON. The three points in FIGS. 10A, 10B, 10C indicate R: rightshoulder, C: center point of left and right sternoclavicular joint, L:left shoulder from the right side.

As shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, an angle θ of both shoulders from thecenter point of the left and right sternoclavicular joint is calculatedfrom the coordinate positions of the three points in the XY coordinateplane.

The horizontal axis of the graph in FIG. 10C is the average position[mm] in the X axis (left and right) direction from the center of thelower back, and the vertical axis is the average position [mm] in the Yaxis (front and back) direction from the center of the pelvis. A line Ashows the angle θ on the back surface side when the garments are worn,and a line B when not worn, showing that when the angle becomes narrow,the rib cage is elevated and the left and right scapulae are adducted.

As shown in FIG. 10C, the angle of the line A when the garments are wornis narrower than the angle θ of line B of when not worn.

Therefore, it was found that if the top garment including the undershirtof the first embodiment of the garment of the present invention is worn,the rib cage elevates, the back muscle becomes straight, and the bodytrunk extends straightly.

Furthermore, the change in the center of gravity position at the time ofwalking was calculated in the three-dimensional operating analysis dataof VICON.

FIGS. 11A, 11B and 11C show the data of the temporal change in thecenter of gravity position for the walking cycle of three to four roundsof the belt of the automatic walking device at the time of walking at 1km, 3 km and 7 km per hour. The vertical axis of the graph is theposition [mm] of the center of gravity (Z axis) from the floor surface.The line A is for when the garments are worn, and the like B is for whennot worn.

It was found that the center of gravity position is higher when worn, asindicated by the line A, than when not worn at the time of walking.Furthermore, the fluctuation in the up and down positions is relativelysmall in the line A than in the line B, and the variation in the up anddown movement tends to be reduced at the time of walking. Therefore, itwas found that walking can be carried out without causing unbalance inthe body.

FIG. 12 shows the data in which the change in the breath rate due tochange in the walking speed was measured with the exhaled gas when thegarments were worn.

The sitting and resting posture for three minutes or longer, thestanding and resting posture for three minutes, walking for threeminutes at 1 km per hour, walking for three minutes at 3 km per hour,walking for three minutes at 7 km per hour, and lastly standing andresting posture for three minutes were conducted in order, and the dataduring this time was measured.

In FIG. 12, the elapsed time (minutes) is shown on the horizontal axis,the breath rate (times/minute) is shown on the vertical axis on the leftside, and the exercise intensity (km/hr) is shown on the vertical axison the right side, and the result for one subject is shown.

In FIG. 12, a line C shows the change in breath rate when not worn, aline D shows the change in breath rate when the garments are worn, and aline E shows the intensity of walking exercise.

The average value of the measured breath rate between 30 seconds to twominutes after the start of the exercise is shown.

The ventilation amount measured using the exhaled gas analyzer for whenworn and for when not worn shown in FIG. 12 is shown in the followingtable 1.

TABLE 1 breath rate when not breath rate when worn (times/min) worn(times/min) Pre  6.8 ± 0.7  4.8 ± 0.1 1 km/hr 22.4 ± 1.5 13.3 ± 1.6 3km/hr 20.7 ± 4.4 12.7 ± 1.9 7 km/hr 29.5 ± 4.4 19.3 ± 5.8 Post  9.2 ±1.5  7.5 ± 0.6

Here, “Pre” means at the time of the standing and resting posture forfive minutes before the walking test on the tread mill, and “Post” meansat the time of the standing and resting posture after the walking teston the tread mill.

FIG. 13 shows the average data for the change in breath rate for threesubjects. A is for when worn, and B is for when not worn. The results ofFIG. 13 are tabulated, as shown in table 2.

TABLE 2 breath rate when not breath rate when worn (times/min) worn(times/min) pre 10.2 ± 2.3  8.3 ± 2.3 1 km/hr 21.2 ± 1.5 16.1 ± 1.9 3km/hr 21.0 ± 2.7 16.2 ± 3.5 7 km/hr 28.7 ± 1.6 23.5 ± 2.8 Post 15.2 ±4.9 19.7 ± 2.9

As shown in FIGS. 12, 13 and the tables 1, 2, the breath rate at thetime of walking was reduced when the garments were worn compared to whennot worn. From such results, it was found that the rib cage elevates,the back muscle straightens and the body trunk straightly extends bywearing the top garment constituted of the undershirt of the firstembodiment.

In the measurement of the heart rate, six healthy males (between 31 to51 years old, average age of 39 years old) were the subject.

The heart rate meter RS800sd manufactured by Polar Co. was used tomeasure the heart rate.

The subjects walked on the tread mill with the heart rate meterattached. The temperature at the time of measurement was 25° and thehumidity was 60%.

Similar to the measurement of the breath rate, in the measurement of theheart rate, after elapse of three minutes in the sitting and restingposture, the standing and resting posture was maintained for fiveminutes and the walking experiment was conducted on the automaticwalking machine (EDM-T tread mill system manufactured by Zebris Co.).The walking experiment was continued for three minutes respectively atthe speed of 1 km, 3 km and 7 km per hour. Lastly, the standing andresting posture was continued for five minutes.

The measured hear rates were sampled one minute at a time, and thefluctuation in the heart rate was analyzed using the Memcale of GMS Co.

The heart rate fluctuation was analyzed in the following manner. Asshown in FIG. 14, the heart rates were stacked for every time interval(RR interval) of the heart rate for every one beat (*1 process of FIG.14), the stacked bar graph was converted to a waveform data (*2 processof FIG. 14), and the waveform was broken into sinusoidal waves. R inFIG. 14 is the time point the heart rate appeared. A specific componentin the frequency of the sinusoidal wave was given attention, where 0.04to 0.15 Hz was set as HF, HF being the index of the parasympatheticnerve and the LF (LF/HF) being the index of the sympathetic nerve.

FIG. 15 shows the change by elapse of time in the average heart rate andthe exercise intensity for all the subjects. The horizontal axis showsthe elapsed time (minutes), the vertical axis on the left side shows theheart rate (beat/minute), and the vertical axis on the right side showsthe exercise intensity (km/hr). The line A is for when worn, and theline B is for when not worn.

FIGS. 16A to 16F show the heart rate for subjects 1 to 6. Each graph isa graph for (A) standing and resting posture before exercise, (B)walking at 1 km per hour, (C) walking at 3 km per hour, (D) walking at 7km per hour, (E) standing and resting posture at the time point ofelapse of three minutes after exercise, and (F) standing and restingposture at the time point of elapse of five minutes after exercise. Thevertical axis of each graph is the heart rate (beat/min). The lines H1to H6 are each data of the subjects 1 to 6. The right side in each graphis the data when the garment is worn, and the left side is the data whenthe garment is not worn.

FIG. 17 shows the detailed data of the subject 1. Similar detailed datawere also collected for the subjects 2 to 6, and the average data ofFIG. 15 was obtained based on each data.

In FIG. 17, the line connecting the triangular points indicates LF, theline connecting the square points indicates HF, and the line connectingthe diamond points indicates LF/HF. The activities of the sympatheticnerve and the parasympathetic nerve were analyzed from the lines of LF,HF, and LF/HF.

As shown in the heart rate data of FIGS. 15 to 17, the heart rate wasreduced when the garment was worn compared to when not worn in theresting posture of the region Z1 at the time of the sitting and restingposture, and the standing and resting posture.

In the region Z2 until elapse of six minutes from the start of walking,there were barely difference from the region Z1 at the time of standingand resting posture, and the heart rate was reduced when the garment wasworn compared to when not worn.

An apparent difference was found in the region Z3 from six minutes toten minutes after the start of walking for when worn and for when notworn, and the heart rate was reduced when worn.

There were barely variation in the heart rate in the region Z4 at thetime of standing and resting posture after walking, and the heart ratewas reduced when the garment was worn compared to when not worn.

Therefore, it was found that the heart rate tends to reduce at all timesincluding at the time of sitting and resting posture, at the time of thestanding and resting posture, at the time of walking at 1 km, 3 km and 7km per hour, and at the time of recovery of the standing and restingposture after walking.

From the data LF, HF and LF/HF showing the fluctuation in the heart rateshown in FIG. 17, it was found that a difference in activity clearlyappears in the region Z3 for when the garment was worn and when notworn, where the sympathetic nerve activity increased and theparasympathetic nerve activity continued when worn.

Some subjects whose heart rate greatly reduced in walking at 7 km perhour suggested the possibility that walking can be carried out in a formcloser to the resting state where the parasympathetic nerve activitydoes not reduce.

Some subjects suggested that the RR interval width of the heart beatincreased and that deep breathing was performed when the garment wasworn.

The step and the walking speed were measured using the operatinganalyzer.

measurement device: “MAC3D System” manufactured by Motion Analysis

subject: five healthy males in twenties to fifties

Experimental Method

A walking path of eight meters on a carpet was walked back and forth,and data was acquired three minutes after the start of walking so thatthe steady walking state can be measured avoiding the influence at thebeginning of walking.

Analyzing Method

The elevated degree of the chest, which is important with regards to theposture, and the movement distance of the heel, which is important withregards to the walking action, were analyzed among those the data forthe action of 35 areas such as the joint of the whole body wereacquired.

Experimental Result

The movement distance and the movement speed for one period of theperiodic walking action can be measured by focusing on the action of oneheel. Focusing on the action of one heel, the heel lands on the floor,kicks the floor, moves away from the floor, and moves to the nextlanding area. The movement distance from the landing to the next landingis substantially twice the “one step in daily language”, that is, “step”in the “movement distance for one period of walking”. The time from“landing” to the next “landing” is the “time for one period of walking”,and thus the “speed of walking” can be calculated.

Spread in the step was seen in substantially all the subjects by wearingthe wear. The spread was 11 cm at a maximum. The walking speed alsosubstantially increased.

TABLE 3 step average average increase of increasing rate step (cm) ofstep (%) only shirt is 2.97 4.51 worn only pants is 1.27 1.89 worn topand 6.57 10.68 bottom are worn

TABLE 4 walking speed average average increase of increasing rate speed(km/h) of speed (%) only shirt is 0.27 6.24 worn only pants is 0.03 1.98worn top and 0.33 8.60 bottom are worn

From the experimental data above, when the garment is worn, the breathrate, the heart rate and the fluctuation in the heart rate can bereduced, and the step and the walking speed can be increased. Thiseffect is recognized when the breath rate and the heart rate are reducedby arranging the first tightening part and inducing so as to elevate therib cage. Furthermore, if the rib cage is elevated, the back musclestraightens, the center of gravity moves upward when walking, the legscan reliably move from the hip joint, and the step and the walking speedcan be increased. The garment can be suitably used as the underwear thatis worn daily where the top side is the undershirt and the bottom sideis the pants, but it is not limited to the underwear, and may be anouter. For instance, it is suitably used as an exercise outer wornduring walking or during other exercises, a rehabilitation outer wornduring gait training and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS

-   1 undershirt-   2 front body section-   3 back body section-   4 sleeve-   5 first tightening part-   6 second tightening part-   11 top-   12 bottom-   13 third tightening part-   14 fourth tightening part-   15 fifth tightening part-   16 sixth tightening part-   17 seventh tightening part-   20, 30, 40 main part made of first stretch material-   50 patch-   60 top garment-   61 bottom garment-   63 rubber band

1. A garment comprising: a main part which includes front and back bodysections, and sleeves extending from the front and back body sectionstowards both arm sides over shoulders; and a pair of first tighteningparts separately placed in left and right areas located at the positionsof a wearer's right and left deltoid muscles covering a boundary of thewearer's shoulder and upper arm in a back side, wherein the front andback body sections and upper arm sections of the sleeves are made fromat least two kinds of stretch materials, which differ in stretchabilityfrom each other, including a material for the main part and a materialfor the first tightening parts having a lower stretchability than themain part.
 2. The garment according to claim 1, wherein the firsttightening parts are formed from one of the following: (1) a patch madefrom the same material as, or a different material from, the main partis overlapped on an outer surface or an inner surface of the main part,and then sewed, or adhered or thermal compression bonded using a resinadhesive; (2) a patch made from a different material from the main partis filled and arranged in an opening provided in the main part, andjoining end edges are sewed; (3) a fabric is changed from the main partwith the same material as, or a different material from, the main part;and (4) an elastic resin is applied to the main body.
 3. The garmentaccording to claim 1, wherein the first tightening parts form a pointgroup, the point group being formed with one of the following: (5) afabric is changed from the main part with the same material as, or adifferent material from, the main part; and (6) an elastic resin isapplied to the main body.
 4. The garment according to claim 1, wherein acontraction force at the time of 30% extension of the first tighteningparts is greater than or equal to two times, and smaller than or equalto ten times, the contraction force at the time of 30% extension of themain body.
 5. The garment according to claim 1, wherein an area of eachfirst tightening part arranged on the left and the right is 10 cm² to300 cm², the first tightening parts being provided one each on the leftand the right, or in plurals separately each on the left and the right.6. The garment according to claim 1, wherein a shape of each firsttightening part on the left and the right arranged between a shoulderregion and a sleeve region with the shoulder in between is a shape inwhich an upper part is branched to a shoulder region side and a sleeveregion side, and left and right side edges at a lower part are convergedtowards a middle of the lower end.
 7. The garment according to claim 1,wherein the back side of the sleeve is sewed to the back body section asa raglan sleeve, the first tightening part being arranged on the raglansleeve.
 8. The garment according to claim 1, wherein the sleeve is ashort sleeve or a long sleeve, and is a sleeve in which a front part ofthe sleeve is sewed to the front body section along a shoulder line or araglan sleeve.
 9. The garment according to claim 1, wherein the sleevesare long sleeves, and a pair of second tightening parts of band-shapefor alleviating arm fatigue, which pass obliquely through a commondigital extensor muscle from an inner side of a wrist towards an outerside of an elbow, is arranged on a forearm of the sleeves from the wristto the elbow.
 10. The garment according to claim 9, wherein the secondtightening parts respectively have a width of 3 cm to 10 cm.
 11. Thegarment according to claim 1, being one of an undershirt, an outer uppergarment including those for sports and rehabilitation, a swimming wear,and a leotard.
 12. The garment according to claim 1, wherein the frontand back body sections continuously includes a lower body sectionreaching to at least a femoral area or coupled to the lower body sectionin attachable/detachable manner through a connecting portion; a mainpart of the lower body section is made from a stretch material; and thelower body section includes a band-shaped third tightening part along awaist, a fourth tightening part for holding down a middle of a buttocksarranged up to a position corresponding to a sacral bone in continuationto a middle of the back of the third tightening part, and a band shapedfifth tightening part arranged along a hip joint at a base of thefemoral area on the back side.
 13. The garment according to claim 12,wherein a sixth tightening part continuing to the third tightening partpassing obliquely upward towards a lower abdomen at a middle of thefront part along the hip joint on the front side in continuation to thefifth tightening part and then passing obliquely upward towards the backside, and a seventh tightening part arranged in continuation to thethird tightening part at the lower abdomen of the middle of the frontpart sandwiched by the front end edges of the sixth tightening parts onthe left and right sides and having the lower end position up to theintermediate position of a length reaching a crotch portion from a waistline are arranged at a front part of the lower body section.
 14. Thegarment according to claim 13, wherein the lower end position of theseventh tightening part is a position immediately before reaching alocal area that bulges out for male garments.
 15. A garment comprising agarment of top and bottom set with a top garment and a bottom garment;wherein the top garment includes a main part which includes front andback body sections and sleeves extending from the front and back bodysections towards both arm sides over shoulders, and a pair of firsttightening parts separately placed in left and right areas located atthe positions of right and left deltoid muscles covering a boundary ofthe wearer's shoulder and upper arm in the back side, the front and backbody sections and the upper arm sections of the sleeves are made from atleast two kinds of stretch materials, which differ in stretchabilityfrom each other, including a material for the main part and a materialfor the first tightening parts having a lower stretchability than themain part; the bottom garment includes a lower body section reaching toat least a femoral area; a main part of the lower body section is madefrom a stretch material; the lower body section includes a fourthtightening part for holding down a middle of a buttocks arranged at aposition corresponding to a sacral bone, and a fifth tightening partarranged in a band shape along a hip joint at a base of the femoral areaon the back side; and the fourth tightening part and the fifthtightening part have lower stretchability than the main part of thelower body section.